A prolific shoplifter has been banned from entering every commercial retailer in Wilmslow town centre after a court imposed a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order designed to stop further offending and protect local businesses.
Ryan Wrigley, described by police as a persistent offender, appeared at Chester Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to two counts of theft from a shop. He was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, alongside the Criminal Behaviour Order, which sets enforceable restrictions on where he can go.
The order bans Wrigley from entering any commercial retailer within Wilmslow town centre, with the restricted zone defined by an official map attached to the order. Police said the measure is intended to curb repeat shoplifting and provide reassurance to retailers who have experienced ongoing losses and disruption linked to his offending.
Police Constable Madi Forrest, of Macclesfield Neighbourhood Police Team, said the order marked a significant step in tackling persistent offending in the area. “I welcome the news that Ryan Wrigley has been handed a Criminal Behaviour Order, that will see him banned from entering any commercial retailer within Wilmslow town centre,” she said.
In a further statement issued after the court hearing, Forrest added: “I do hope that now this five-year order has been handed down to Mr Wrigley, the retailers can breathe a welcomed sigh of relief safe in the knowledge that he will be watched extra careful to ensure he does not reoffend.”
She warned that breaching the restrictions could bring serious consequences. “With that in mind, should he do so, Wrigley could face a substantial fine or even a prison sentence,” she said, urging the public to report any suspected breaches. “Anyone who encounters Ryan Wrigley breaching the restrictions of his order is urged to contact Cheshire Police through our website or call 101 to report it.”
Criminal Behaviour Orders, commonly referred to as CBOs, are court orders that can be imposed following a conviction for an offence, allowing courts to place prohibitions or requirements on an offender in an effort to prevent further anti-social behaviour and protect the public. They were introduced as part of reforms that replaced Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in England and Wales. Breaching a CBO, without reasonable excuse, is a criminal offence and can lead to further prosecution and custody depending on the circumstances and severity of the breach.
The Wilmslow case comes amid wider concern from retailers and unions about the scale of shop theft across England and Wales and the impact on staff, particularly in town centres where repeat offenders can target multiple stores in a single day. Police-recorded shoplifting has risen sharply in recent years. Official figures published by the Office for National Statistics show shoplifting offences rose by 29% to 469,788 in the year ending June 2024 compared with the previous year, the highest figure since current police recording practices began in 2003.
Retail industry groups have said that recorded crime captures only part of what is happening on the ground, arguing many incidents go unreported. At the same time, forces and local policing teams have increasingly used orders and targeted enforcement against individuals described as serious and persistent offenders, with the aim of disrupting patterns of repeat theft and giving businesses more confidence to report crimes.
In Wilmslow, police have presented the five-year ban as a direct response to the scale and persistence of Wrigley’s offending. Wrigley is of no fixed address but is described as being from the Stockport area. The restrictions are not framed as a general exclusion from the town but as a specific prohibition on entering commercial retailers within the mapped town-centre zone.
The mechanics of such orders matter, because enforcement depends on clarity about what behaviour is prohibited and where. Prosecution guidance on CBOs emphasises that conditions must be reasonable, proportionate and drafted in a way that makes it straightforward to determine whether a breach has occurred. That clarity is often supported by maps where the restriction is geographic, enabling officers, retailers and members of the public to understand the limits of the order and report suspected violations with confidence.
For Wilmslow retailers, the immediate significance of the order is practical. The ban is designed to give shop staff and managers a clearer framework for involving police if Wrigley attempts to enter premises covered by the restrictions. Under the approach set out by police in this case, the order is also intended to act as a deterrent by increasing the risk of swift consequences if he returns and reoffends, shifting the response from repeated reports of theft to an enforcement model where the breach itself can trigger action.
Police have asked anyone who encounters Wrigley breaching the restrictions to contact Cheshire Police through its website or by calling 101, the non-emergency number.
